“Women need role models on how to be effective advocates, and how to make a perfect blintz,” the activist Cora Weiss once said. The blintz—that old world delicacy with its winning combination of a slightly savory pancake and sweet, creamy filling—in recent years became a recurring theme in the cross-country phone calls I’d shared with my older sister. We’d catch up on work and family gossip and then the conversation would turn to blintzes.
Grandma Anna’s Cheese Blintzes
April 05, 2021
Ingredients
Bletlach:
- 3large eggs
- 1cup milk
- 2teaspoons vegetable oil (plus additional for frying)
- ¾teaspoons Kosher salt
- ¾cup sifted all-purpose flour
Filling
- 2cups farmer cheese or small curd cottage
- 4ounces cream cheese
- 1large egg
- 1tablespoon melted butter
- 2-3teaspoons sugar (adjust to taste)
- ¾teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1teaspoon vanilla
- butter for frying
Preparation
Bletlach
- Step 1
Lightly beat eggs. Stir in milk, oil, and salt. Slowly add flour in quarter cup increments, whisking rapidly to combine (or using electric mixer). Let mixture rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes to thicken.
- Step 2
Heat a very small amount of oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Portion about 5 tablespoons of batter into a cup (adjust depending on the size of your pan and desired thickness/size of pancakes). Pour batter into skillet; rotating skillet as you pour to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Cook until edges of blintz between to curl up (about a minute). Flip cooked blintz onto tea towel, fried side up and let cool to room temperature. Repeat, whisking batter between each blintz.
To make the Grandma Anna’s Cheese Blintzes
- Step 1
While bletlach are cooling, combine filling ingredients in small bowl. Then scoop one tablespoon of filling onto the fried side of the bletlach. Fold “envelope style,” folding the bottom of pancake over the filling, followed by the two sides, and then the top. Repeat with remaining bletlach.
- Step 2
Heat butter in skillet over moderate heat. Place blintzes in pan, folded side down.
Fry until golden and slightly crisped, flipping once. About 2 minutes per side.
- Step 3
Serve with sour cream or fruit preserves.